Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in <i>Sofia</i> (2018)

Hind El Fellak; Abdelghanie Ennam

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Research Article |

| Peer-Reviewed

Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018)

Hind El Fellak^*

, Abdelghanie Ennam

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 1)

Received: 7 October 2024 Accepted: 11 December 2024 Published: 7 February 2025

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

How can feminist filmmakers use film as a counter-discourse to subvert hegemonic gender norms in a context where gendered ideologies and laws are iconized and strongly enforced? While much of the existing literature focuses on gender representation in Arab cinema, there is a significant gap in research examining how filmmakers in the Maghreb, particularly Morocco, engage with law, gender, and agency to de-stereotype saturated clichés indoctrinated in religious and popular culture (for example, hchouma and fitna). This paper tackles this gap by analyzing Sofia (2018), directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, through feminist film theory, decolonial feminism, and theories of agency. Using qualitative methods, such as intertextual discourse and thematic analysis, this study examines how the film deconstructs the ambivalence of female agency in challenging restrictive gender ideologies and laws. In particular, the study raises important questions about how post-colonial filmmakers balance the exposure of gender inequalities while avoiding reductive (re)presentations of women and resisting Western stereotypes about Third World women and societies. The findings foreground Moroccan feminist cinema as a powerful site for cultural resistance, gender norms contestation, and enunciation.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
Page(s)	1-9
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Agency, Cultural Resistance, Feminist Cinema, Gendered Ideologies, Moroccan Cinema, Sofia (2018)

References

[1]	Andits, P. "Movies and Movements." The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, Wiley, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470674871.wbespm137
[2]	Bedjaoui, A. "Algerian Women Filmmakers and Their Resistance to Islamic Fundamentalism: Seven Landmark Films on the Struggle of Women in the 1990s." In Women and Resistance in the Maghreb: Remembering Kahina, edited by Nabil Boudraa, Routledge, 2022, pp. 207-226.
[3]	Brunsdon, C. Screen Tastes: Soap Opera to Satellite Dishes. Routledge, 2005, pp. 12-34.
[4]	DeAngelis, A. "Keid El-Nisai (Women’s Cunning): Feminist Deployment of a Patriarchal Trope." In Women and Resistance in the Maghreb, edited by Nabil Boudraa, Routledge, 2021, pp. 45-66.
[5]	El Aji, S. Sexualité et célibat au Maroc: pratiques et verbalisation. Eddif, 2018, pp. 56-98.
[6]	Filiu, J. P. The Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons from the Democratic Uprising. Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 12-56.
[7]	Freud S. Further remarks on the neuro-psychosis of defense. Se. 1896; 3.
[8]	Hamil, M. "Bodies for Sale: Sex Tourism in Nabil Ayouch’s Much Loved (2015)." Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/10509208.2023.2215352
[9]	Kabeer, N. "Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium Development Goal 1." Gender & Development, 2005, 13(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552070512331332273
[10]	Mernissi, F. Beyond the Veil, Revised Edition: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society (Vol. 423). Indiana University Press, 1987, pp. 31-54.
[11]	Mulvey, L. "A/the Cinema Offers Several Possible Pleasures." Screen, 1975, 16(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6
[12]	Newman, J. M. "Aspirational Maternalism and the ‘Reconstitution’ of Single Mothers in Morocco." Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, 2018, 14(1), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-4294211
[13]	Rodgers, J. "Unwed and Unwanted: Sofia and the Taboo of Single Motherhood in Morocco." In Single Parents: Representations and Resistance in an International Context, Springer International Publishing, 2021, pp. 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70015-3_4
[14]	Sadiqi, F. "The Marginalization of Moroccan in Society and Media." In Minorities, Women, and the State in North Africa, The Red Sea Press, 2017, pp. 167-178.
[15]	Salime, Z. Between Feminism and Islam: Human Rights and Sharia Law in Morocco. University of Minnesota Press, 2011, pp. 36-78.
[16]	Slyomovics, S. "Reparations in Morocco: The Symbolic Dirham." In Waging War, Making Peace, Routledge, 2016, pp. 94-114.
[17]	Tomsic, M. "‘We Will Invent Ourselves, the Age of the New Image Is at Hand’ Creating, Learning and Talking with Australian Feminist Filmmaking." Australian Feminist Studies, 2007, 22(53), 287-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/08164640701393246
[18]	Tucker, J. E. Women, Family, and Gender in Islamic Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 114-135.
[19]	Ayouch, N. (Director). (2017). Razzia [Film]. Ali n’Productions.
[20]	Benkiran, Y. (Director). (2023). Queens [Film]. Petit Film Production.
[21]	Benlyazid, F. (Director). (1984). A Door to the Sky. La Sept.
[22]	Benm'Barek-Aloïsi, M. (Director). (2018). Sofia [Film]. Curiosa Films; Versus Production.
[23]	Kilani, L. (Director). (2023). Indivision [Film]. DKB Productions; Socco Chico Films.
[24]	Touzani, M. (Director). (2019). Adam [Film].Ali n’ Productions.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Fellak, H. E., Ennam, A. (2025). Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Fellak, H. E.; Ennam, A. Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Fellak HE, Ennam A. Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11,
  author = {Hind El Fellak and Abdelghanie Ennam},
  title = {Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018)
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-9},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251301.11},
  abstract = {How can feminist filmmakers use film as a counter-discourse to subvert hegemonic gender norms in a context where gendered ideologies and laws are iconized and strongly enforced? While much of the existing literature focuses on gender representation in Arab cinema, there is a significant gap in research examining how filmmakers in the Maghreb, particularly Morocco, engage with law, gender, and agency to de-stereotype saturated clichés indoctrinated in religious and popular culture (for example, hchouma and fitna). This paper tackles this gap by analyzing Sofia (2018), directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, through feminist film theory, decolonial feminism, and theories of agency. Using qualitative methods, such as intertextual discourse and thematic analysis, this study examines how the film deconstructs the ambivalence of female agency in challenging restrictive gender ideologies and laws. In particular, the study raises important questions about how post-colonial filmmakers balance the exposure of gender inequalities while avoiding reductive (re)presentations of women and resisting Western stereotypes about Third World women and societies. The findings foreground Moroccan feminist cinema as a powerful site for cultural resistance, gender norms contestation, and enunciation.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018)

AU  - Hind El Fellak
AU  - Abdelghanie Ennam
Y1  - 2025/02/07
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 1
EP  - 9
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
AB  - How can feminist filmmakers use film as a counter-discourse to subvert hegemonic gender norms in a context where gendered ideologies and laws are iconized and strongly enforced? While much of the existing literature focuses on gender representation in Arab cinema, there is a significant gap in research examining how filmmakers in the Maghreb, particularly Morocco, engage with law, gender, and agency to de-stereotype saturated clichés indoctrinated in religious and popular culture (for example, hchouma and fitna). This paper tackles this gap by analyzing Sofia (2018), directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, through feminist film theory, decolonial feminism, and theories of agency. Using qualitative methods, such as intertextual discourse and thematic analysis, this study examines how the film deconstructs the ambivalence of female agency in challenging restrictive gender ideologies and laws. In particular, the study raises important questions about how post-colonial filmmakers balance the exposure of gender inequalities while avoiding reductive (re)presentations of women and resisting Western stereotypes about Third World women and societies. The findings foreground Moroccan feminist cinema as a powerful site for cultural resistance, gender norms contestation, and enunciation.

VL  - 13
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Hind El Fellak

English Department, Faculty of Languages, Letters, and Arts, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0000-1646-7092
Abdelghanie Ennam

English Department, Faculty of Languages, Letters, and Arts, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9956-6877

Download PDF

Submit an Article

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Fellak, H. E., Ennam, A. (2025). Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Fellak, H. E.; Ennam, A. Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2025, 13(1), 1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Fellak HE, Ennam A. Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018). Humanit Soc Sci. 2025;13(1):1-9. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11,
  author = {Hind El Fellak and Abdelghanie Ennam},
  title = {Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018)
},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-9},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20251301.11},
  abstract = {How can feminist filmmakers use film as a counter-discourse to subvert hegemonic gender norms in a context where gendered ideologies and laws are iconized and strongly enforced? While much of the existing literature focuses on gender representation in Arab cinema, there is a significant gap in research examining how filmmakers in the Maghreb, particularly Morocco, engage with law, gender, and agency to de-stereotype saturated clichés indoctrinated in religious and popular culture (for example, hchouma and fitna). This paper tackles this gap by analyzing Sofia (2018), directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, through feminist film theory, decolonial feminism, and theories of agency. Using qualitative methods, such as intertextual discourse and thematic analysis, this study examines how the film deconstructs the ambivalence of female agency in challenging restrictive gender ideologies and laws. In particular, the study raises important questions about how post-colonial filmmakers balance the exposure of gender inequalities while avoiding reductive (re)presentations of women and resisting Western stereotypes about Third World women and societies. The findings foreground Moroccan feminist cinema as a powerful site for cultural resistance, gender norms contestation, and enunciation.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Cinematizing Women’s Struggles: Gendered Laws in Sofia (2018)

AU  - Hind El Fellak
AU  - Abdelghanie Ennam
Y1  - 2025/02/07
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 1
EP  - 9
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20251301.11
AB  - How can feminist filmmakers use film as a counter-discourse to subvert hegemonic gender norms in a context where gendered ideologies and laws are iconized and strongly enforced? While much of the existing literature focuses on gender representation in Arab cinema, there is a significant gap in research examining how filmmakers in the Maghreb, particularly Morocco, engage with law, gender, and agency to de-stereotype saturated clichés indoctrinated in religious and popular culture (for example, hchouma and fitna). This paper tackles this gap by analyzing Sofia (2018), directed by Meryem Benm’Barek, through feminist film theory, decolonial feminism, and theories of agency. Using qualitative methods, such as intertextual discourse and thematic analysis, this study examines how the film deconstructs the ambivalence of female agency in challenging restrictive gender ideologies and laws. In particular, the study raises important questions about how post-colonial filmmakers balance the exposure of gender inequalities while avoiding reductive (re)presentations of women and resisting Western stereotypes about Third World women and societies. The findings foreground Moroccan feminist cinema as a powerful site for cultural resistance, gender norms contestation, and enunciation.

VL  - 13
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download